Letting Me Go
by RockDiva
Summary: When he was 12, he let his mother go once and for all. But now, almost 31 years later, he'll learn why she let him go to begin with.
1. Trailer

**A/N- **The following is the trailer for my upcoming story _Letting Me Go_. It is inspired by an abandoned concept that Stephen Anderson discusses on the DVD commentary and powered inside my imagination by the song _Letting Me Go_ by Jessie Daniels. So without further adieu, here's just a little glimpse of what's to come.

**Bold**-Voiceover  
Plain Text (in and out of parenthesis)-dialogue and action  
_Italics_ (in and out of parenthesis)-background music

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He Was An Orphan

**** Who Overcame The Odds Against Him…**

The camera shows Wilbur staring at an assignment as the camera zooms in and shows a C- stamped in red ink.

"I'm sorry, Wilbur, but you knew the assignment…"

The camera fades to a frustrated Wilbur slamming the door behind him and throwing his book bag on the ground before fading into Wilbur standing behind Cornelius, barely visible over his shoulder as he works on something in his lab.

"Dad, do you ever regret your decision? I mean, you had the chance to just reach out and ask her why. You didn't have to stop her, just find out the answer."

"I never regret my decision, but I can't say it doesn't haunt me sometimes wondering why she gave me up. But maybe knowing the reason _would_ have been something to regret."

The camera morphs into Cornelius' bedroom as he and Franny sit on the edge of their bed and zooms into Cornelius' distraught face.

"I know that I need to keep moving forward, but everything that's happened…it just brings back old memories. I feel like the helpless little boy I was up on the rooftop, marking off the number of times I'd been rejected, wondering why my own mother didn't even want me."

"You can still find out. You know who you are now. Maybe it's time to find out who she is."

"I…I can't. I promised myself that I wouldn't. I don't need her."

**She Was A Woman Who Had Nowhere Else To Turn…**

The camera shows a woman cloaking her head with her jacket hood before stepping out into the rain with her baby close to her and then cross fades to Wilbur landing the time machine in the park nearby his father's old orphanage.

"If dad's not willing to find out, then I will."

The camera follows Wilbur as he walks through the rainy park, suddenly stopping when he hears crying coming from a nearby park bench.

"You."

"Excuse me?"

"I know what you're about to do."

The camera shows Wilbur sitting down beside baby Lewis, smiling at him, and then looking up at the mother before fading to the same woman lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling as Wilbur's voice echoes:

"You _have_ to let him go. But someday, please, let him know why."

The camera cross fades and zooms in on a picture of baby Lewis as a hand picks it up and fades out to show the same woman holding it before her, tears in her eyes.

"I can never let you know."

**Both Thought They Knew The Secret To Letting Go…**

The scene cuts to Cornelius opening the door and revealing an older woman.

"I'm from Tabors Law Firm. All of Joseph Michaels' clients were handed over to me upon his retirement and so I have some legal things to discuss if I could just have a moment of your time."

"Not a problem. Won't you come in?"

The camera shows Wilbur staring at the lawyer in disbelief and attempting to hide his face before the camera zooms in as he reveals his identity.

"You!"

"Hi, uh, grandma?"

The camera quickly cuts to Cornelius' bewildered face as he spins from looking at Wilbur to looking at the lawyer, the camera also spinning to reveal the woman's equally bewildered face.

"It can't be…6th Street Orphanage?"

"How did you know?"

"Because I think I left you there forty-two years ago…and he-he was there too!"

The camera pans around to show Wilbur's guilty face before panning back to Cornelius' confused face.

"Mother?"

**Both ****Were ****Really ****Running From ****T****he**** Past…**

The camera shows the mother admiring all of Cornelius' plaques and awards that are hanging on the walls of Robinson Industries and then turns as she looks at Cornelius with motherly awe.

"I've missed so much. I know I don't have the right to even look at these and feel the pride of knowing that they're for _my_ son. My smart, wonderful, inventive son."

"_Your_ son? Before Lucille and Bud, I was nobody's son. They adopted me. They've loved me all this time. I'm _their_ son."

"But, Cornelius, you are my son. I'm the one who had you."

"You're right. You did have me. But then you let me go."

The camera shows Cornelius throw up his hands in frustration as he walks quickly up the Robinson's drive, leaving his mother behind him, and then pans to show the mother reaching out to go after him.

"You can't just show up after all of these years and expect me to say everything is okay between us."

"Everything happened on its own. I never planned on just showing up but I didn't know…"

"And you didn't know because you never planned on ever showing up!"

**This ****Winter****…**

The camera zooms in on Cornelius tear streaked face as he enters the lab and then zooms in on his memory scanner as he rips off the covering before turning to show Wilbur walking in behind him, a confused and almost fearful look on his face.

"Dad, you didn't find her. She found you. Why won't you give her a chance?"

"Because she didn't even want to find me, Wilbur. It was an accident. I'll _always_ just be her accident."

**The Journey ****O****f**** A Lifetime…**

The camera cuts to Wilbur firing up a larger scale prototype of Cornelius' original memory scanner and cross fades to the worried looks on Cornelius' and his mother's faces as papers fly all around them from the breeze created by the machine's fan.

"Wilbur, what are you doing!?"

"You only said I was grounded from the time machine! The two of you are going to find out what you missed and didn't miss."

"Wilbur, what are you talking about?"

"You're going to have to see for yourself, dad."

The camera shows a holographic image of the night that Cornelius was left at the orphanage and quickly cuts to Wilbur pushing both of them into the holographic image where they both disappear. (_And I wonder…_)

**Will Bring A Mother And Her Son Back Together…**

_If I could fall into the sky _(shows Cornelius and his mother landing in the orphanage yard, and getting up to see Lewis making his way slowly over to his mother on the doorsteps of the orphanage)

_Do you think time would pass me by _(cuts to the mother wanting to reach out and touch Lewis as he walks by her at his college graduation, but she is stopped by Cornelius)

_Cause yo__u know I'd walk a thousand miles _(fades to a sunny day as the mother's younger self walks to the orphanage, stops and stares up at the door, and then hangs her head and walks past)

_If I could just see you _(shows the mother turning quickly to see Cornelius standing behind her)

_Tonight_(cuts to Cornelius, reaching out and touching his young mother as she leans against a door in tears)

**Letting Me Go**

"Moving on isn't the same as moving forward."

**Coming This February ****To**** Fan Fiction (dot) Net**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N- **WOW! How did February turn to April so quickly? I can't believe it! So, sorry it took so long. School got crazy, off and on sicky-ness got crazier, and life simply happened I guess. I hope everyone is still interested in reading this story because I'm still currently interested in writing it. Maybe even more so than when I first posted the trailer!

Anyways, here's the first chapter.

No warnings unless you're uncomfortable with non-suggestive content including a husband and wife sleeping in the same bed :P I don't do risque...not in my point of view anyways xD

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**Chapter 1**

Wilbur stared in utter confusion at what he thought had been the best paper he had ever written for his English class. Stamped in red ink was a C-. He looked at his teacher curiously and a bit angrily the rest of the class period and waited for the bell to ring so he could make his grievances known. "Mr. Willerstein, can we talk about my paper?" Wilbur asked calmly, attempting to keep his patience. The last thing he needed was to carry both a C- and a slip of suspension or expulsion home to his mom and dad.

"What's to talk about, Wilbur? It was very well written, but you completely missed the point of the paper," the teacher said as he sorted a few things and then leaned against his desk, facing Wilbur. "Wilbur, it was supposed to be a non-fictional paper on your relationship with your grandparents."

"And that's what it's about, honest," Wilbur defended. "My grandpa really does lose his teeth all the time, mostly because of mom's singing frogs, and grandma really does think that baking cookies is the same thing as dancing! Every single thing I wrote was true."

Mr. Willerstein sighed, and moved to his chair behind his desk and sat down. "Wilbur, I know those things are true. I've been to your house for dinner, remember? My dad was your dad's science teacher, so of course I know your family's a bit eccentric and those parts I believe." Mr. Willerstein looked at Wilbur seriously, "Wilbur, you have a wonderful family and wonderful grandparents. There's no need for you to make up mystery grandparents."

Wilbur suddenly realized why his teacher was having a hard time believing him. He wasn't sure if he should continue defending himself or not, but since he knew his reputation was at stake, he pressed on. "I didn't make them up. I do have mystery grandparents. My dad was adopted, so that means I have two other grandparents out there somewhere."

"I know it does, and that's okay to write about, but it was supposed to be completely non-fictional," the teacher grabbed the paper from Wilbur's hands to re-inspect it for a moment. "Instead, you have yourself traveling back in time, taking your father's pre-adopted, 12 year old self to see his mother on the night that she left him on the steps of the orphanage. And then when he has the chance to meet his mother and stop her from giving him up, he doesn't because he knows he already has a family and so your mysterious grandmother remains a mystery?" Mr. Willerstein took a deep breath and looked up at Wilbur incredulously. "It's actually very moving and would be wonderful for a book or a movie, but it's fiction."

"It is not fiction!" Wilbur raised his voice a little. "My dad is an inventor. He has a time machine. Two time machines actually. So I really did use it to do everything I said in the paper."

"So how come I've never heard of a time machine from Robinsons Industries?" the teacher raised his eyebrow, challenging Wilbur's explanation.

"Because, dad's creative team hasn't made any advertising markups for the machines yet. They're simply not ready for the mass public. After my time machine fiasco…uh…fiascos….dad decided he'd probably need the government okay for an invention like this. Yeah, turns out he was right and the government is slow at approving anything." Wilbur thought he sounded pretty convincing as he explained what he knew to be the truth.

"Okay, enough's enough," Mr. Willerstein waved his hand, dismissing any further argument from his most stubborn student. "I'm sorry, Wilbur, but you knew the assignment."

Wilbur realized his teacher wouldn't be persuaded. He slumped his shoulders, stuffed the paper into his backpack and trudged out the door.

--The Robinson House--

"Billie, have you seen any of my instruments?" Franny asked Aunt Billie as she walked by.

"No, I haven't but I did hear some strange noises coming from Wilbur's room the other day," she said, helping as best as she could.

"Mmhmm, doesn't surprise me one bit," Franny looked at a nearby clock. She then stood by the door, hands on her hips, in a position to question Wilbur about it the minute he came home. Right on schedule, the door opened and Wilbur came in. He slammed the door behind him and threw his backpack down on the ground. He noticed his mom but didn't acknowledge her presence. "Hold it right there, mister. I was going to ask you about my instruments, but I think there's something bigger here you need to explain."

"I don't feel like it right now, okay," Wilbur snapped. As soon as he did, he stopped in his tracks, knowing that his mom would not be too happy about his reaction. He turned quickly and saw the glare in her eyes.

"I think somebody needs to have a talk with his father," Franny said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, I should say so! He's the reason I got a C- in the first place!" Wilbur blurted out, just as snappy if not snappier than before.

"You got a C-!?" Franny asked in astonishment. Wilbur was a lot of things, but dumb was not one of them. Irrational and too impatient to think things through maybe, but when it came to school work, he managed decent enough grades. "And how can you blame your father?"

Wilbur huffed, picked up his backpack and pulled out his paper to show to his mom. He handed it to her, but didn't feel like sticking around to hear what she had to say. Instead, he felt like asking his dad a few questions. "I'm going to go have that talk with dad." He didn't give his mom time to protest and took off in the direction of the lab.

Cornelius was working on something important to mankind as usual when Wilbur finally reached the lab. He heard him come in, but didn't stop what he was doing. "Hey, son," he greeted with a simple wave behind him.

"Dad, do you ever regret your decision?" Wilbur asked a little more timidly than he had first planned on.

Cornelius immediately stopped what he was doing. He knew what his son meant without even asking. He slowly turned around and looked at Wilbur, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "What would make you even ask something like that, Wilbur?" Cornelius asked, curious about his son's sudden uncertainty.

"I don't know. It's just, I've been thinking about it, and I just don't get it. I mean, you had the chance to just reach out and ask her why. You didn't have to stop her, just find out the answer," Wilbur answered, trying to explain it as logically as he could in order to get his father see his point of view. "I didn't fully understand on the rooftop either, dad. If it had been me looking for you or mom, I would have made sure I found you."

Cornelius thought a little before placing his hands on his son's shoulders. "I never regret my decision," he thought a little more, "but I can't honestly say it doesn't haunt me sometimes wondering why she gave me up. But maybe knowing the reason would have been something to regret."

"What do you mean?"

"What if I had found out the reason? What if she had wanted me again, Wilbur?" Cornelius explained somewhat desperately. "What would have happened to the future? To our family? To you? You already stopped existing once because of my stupid choices."

"So it's my fault?" Wilbur pulled away as if insulted. "You blame me for never finding out who your mother was?"

"Of course I don't blame you, Wilbur," Cornelius answered quickly, hurt that his son even could accuse him of such a thing. "I thank you. If you hadn't set me straight, I would have just ruined everything. I don't regret my decision, Wilbur." Wilbur didn't respond. Instead he rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his eyes to the floor."Wilbur?" Wilbur let his hand fall and he turned without saying another word and left. "Wilbur!"

Cornelius sighed. He wished he knew what was going through Wilbur's mind as he exited the lab. A little distressed, he decided he had had enough of work for one day.

-- Cornelius' and Franny's Bedroom --

"I guess I can understand why Wilbur was full of questions earlier," Cornelius sat on the edge of his and Franny's bed, reading Wilbur's paper. "I hope he knows we're not mad at him for this C-. It's not his fault Mr. Willerstein didn't believe him."

"No, but it is Wilbur's fault for adding something that would jeopardize his grade based on the assignment," Franny called from their bathroom as she got ready for bed.

"Maybe, but it is still the truth. Wilbur did take me back to see my mom. I've told you that haven't I?" Cornelius called back questioningly.

Franny set down her toothbrush on the sink and stood in the doorway facing her husband. "Yes, dear, you have. But that's not my point. Just because something happened, and we know it happened, doesn't mean we can assume that everyone is going to believe us." She then went back to what she was doing.

"Wilbur should have used better judgment," Cornelius nodded. "Still, he's only just 14. This is definitely a lesson learned hopefully, but we have to be careful we teach him integrity also. We can't just tell him he should back down all the time just because one person doesn't understand. He needs to learn how to keep that balance of knowing when to fight and when not too," Cornelius said as he set the paper down on the nightstand and lay back, propping his hands between his head and his pillow as he stared at the ceiling intently.

"That I agree with," Franny called between spits as she finished brushing her teeth. "We'll just have to have a long talk with him about this tomorrow and see if we can't come to some agreement on what should be done. A C- will lower his grade and you're still good friends with Mr. Willerstein's father so maybe this whole thing can be straightened out discreetly," Franny suggested as she brushed out her hair. "Honey?" There had been no response from Cornelius following what she had said. She laid down her brush, turned off the bathroom light and headed over to the bed, lying down beside her husband, but in a position, with her head propped against her elbow, so that she could face him slightly. "What's the matter, Cornelius?"

"I don't know," Cornelius hesitated. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Franny; he trusted her with everything. He just wasn't sure if he wanted to admit to how he was feeling. "I know that I need to keep moving forward, but everything that's happened, the paper and Wilbur's questions and attitude about it…it just brings back old memories."

Franny moved closer and used her free hand and rested it on her husband's cheek. "I know this must be hard on you, and I don't entirely understand how you feel, but, honey, you know I'm here for you and Wilbur didn't do any of this on purpose. He was just reacting out of confusion," she said in reference to Wilbur's attitude with Cornelius earlier.

Cornelius pulled away and turned over so he wasn't facing Franny should he break down and shed a few tears. "I feel like the helpless little boy I was up on the rooftop, marking off the number of times I'd been rejected, wondering why my own mother didn't even want me."

Franny didn't take it her husband's retreat personally. Instead she laid all the way down on the bed and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment before breaking the silence."You can still find out."

"What!?" Cornelius immediately turned over and faced his wife, who did the same. "What do you mean I can still find out?"

"You're not the helpless boy you once thought you were," Franny explained as lovingly as possible. "You know who you are now. Maybe it's time to find out who she is."

Cornelius's eyes darted in a few directions as he rolled her words around in his head. "I…I can't," he finally responded. "I promised myself that I wouldn't. I don't need her. I don't need to know her. I've let her go."

"Sweetie…" Franny started, but was stopped as Cornelius pulled her into his arms.

"I'll be okay," he said with an unconfident smile. "All I need is right here in my arms and in the other room asleep." He kissed her head as if to reassure his words.

Franny smiled, resolving to let the conversation go for the night. "Our son better be asleep," she joked as she rested her head in the crook of Cornelius' arm.

Neither of them knew that Wilbur wasn't asleep but instead on the verge of changing their lives forever.

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**A/N (cont.) -**

Okay, so if there was any confusion, Mr. Willerstein is the name of Lewis' science teacher. And this Mr. Willerstein, Wilbur's English teacher, is that Mr. Willerstein's son. This may or may not prove significant in the future... Also, I do not think it a stretch of the imagination to think Wilbur is smart. I think he's definitely smart, maybe not quick to think things through, but still good enough to keep up with the rest of 'em. After all, smart daddy ;P Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Reviews Equals Happiness :D 


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